Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall in Beijing

Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall in Beijing

The Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall in Beijing is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

The Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall is located in Zhengbaiqi Village, Sijiqing Township, Haidian District. It was the residence of the great Qing Dynasty realist writer Cao Xueqin in his later years. The hall opened to the public on April 22, 1983. The plaque “Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall” was inscribed by Fu Jie.

It is located at No. 39, Zhengbaiqi Village, Fragrant Hills, and is a small rural memorial.

Cao Xueqin (1715–1764) was a Chinese novelist of the Qing Dynasty, best known for his masterpiece *Dream of the Red Chamber*. With its profound ideological content and exceptional artistic skill, *Dream of the Red Chamber* has been widely loved by readers across time and borders. Literary circles in China and abroad have established Cao Xueqin Memorial Halls

and specialized research organizations known as the Redology Societies.

The Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall was built in 1984. The building consists of a row of traditional Qing-style single-story houses facing south, covering an area of approximately 3,000 square meters, with a built-up area of 300 square meters.

The collections mainly include cultural relics related to Cao Xueqin’s life, artifacts connected to his family and Zhengbaiqi Village, as well as replicas of objects described in the classic novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

Memorial Exhibition Rooms

The museum is divided into five exhibition rooms, displaying the place where Cao Xueqin lived, the study where he wrote *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the inspiration he drew from the beautiful natural surroundings of Fragrant Hills, major discoveries about his life over the past two centuries, and materials related to his former residence. In addition, there are stone inscriptions exhibited, reflecting the connection between the Cao family and the Fragrant Hills area.

The museum was originally a small rural museum built around the old house at No. 39, Zhengbaiqi, Fragrant Hills, Beijing. In 1971, a poem inscribed on the west wall of the old house was discovered, one of which largely matched the legendary couplet gifted to Cao Xueqin by E Bi. Therefore, some scholars of *Dream of the Red Chamber* have verified that this building was the place where Cao Xueqin lived and worked in his later years.

Exhibition Rooms

To commemorate the great literary figure Cao Xueqin, and based on poetic references stating that Cao spent his later years “writing books in the yellow-leaf village of the Western Hills,” among other descriptions, an area of 8 hectares was set aside within the Beijing Botanical Garden (the former site of Zhengbaiqi) to establish the Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall, named after “Yellow Leaf Village.” The entrance of the memorial hall now features a plaque inscribed by the renowned scholar and calligrapher Qi Gong. The exhibition rooms not only introduce Cao Xueqin’s life and experiences but also display numerous physical artifacts related to him and *Dream of the Red Chamber*. The original inscribed poems on the wall have been carefully copied and displayed in their original form. Yellow Leaf Village boasts lush trees, green lawns, and a tranquil, picturesque environment. Within the village, there are scenic spots such as “Willows by the River,” “Vines at the Gate,” “Bamboo Fences and Thatched Shops,” and “Evening Smoke over the Wooden Gate.” There is also a teahouse, tavern, ancient stumps, stone mills, wells, and vegetable plots behind the houses—truly a delightful rural scene that captivates visitors.

Location of the Memorial Hall

It is located in the Wu Mansion courtyard (formerly the residence of Wu Enpei) on the east side of Wuxiaojie Intersection, Old Town, Liaoyang. The site includes 21 rooms enclosed by high walls, forming a small quadrangle compound. It covers an area of 1,300 square meters, with a built-up area of 630 square meters.

In August 1997, it was established to commemorate Cao Xueqin’s ancestral roots in Liaoyang. The name of the hall was inscribed by the renowned Redology scholar Feng Qiyong. It is the only newly built memorial hall in the northeast region, following similar establishments in Beijing, Nanjing, and other locations.

The Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall in Liaoyang has an exhibition area of 480 square meters, with four exhibition rooms. The exhibits focus on Cao Xueqin’s ancestral home in Liaoyang, centered around three inscribed stone tablets discovered in Liaoyang. The first is the inscription “Educator Cao Zhenyan” on the *Precious Record of Dafajiao Master* tablet from the fourth year of the Tiancong era (1630) of the Later Jin, found at -Yuan; the second is the inscription “Retired Official Cao Zhenyan” from the ninth month of the same year at the Jade Emperor Temple; the third is the inscription of three individuals—Cao Shijue, Cao Deshun, and Cao Dexian—from the sixth year of the Chongde era (1641) of the Qing Dynasty at Mituo Temple in Xincheng. The first two tablets refer to Cao Xueqin’s great-grandfather, while the third tablet lists three members of the third branch of the Cao family. Through rubbings of these inscribed tablets, combined with literature from the *Liaodong Cao Clan Genealogy*, and presented as sand table exhibits, the memorial hall also features a seated statue of Cao Xueqin.

Scenic Spot Location

No. 39, Zhengbaiqi Village, Wofosi Road, Fragrant Hills, Beijing Botanical Garden, Haidian District, Beijing

Cao Xueqin (c. 1715–c. 1763) was the greatest novelist of China’s Qing Dynasty. His given name was Zhan, courtesy name Mengruan, and his pen name was Xueqin, also known as Qinpu or Qinxī. His ancestral home was in Liaoyang. His ancestors were originally Han Chinese, later becoming “Booi Aha” (bondservants) of the Manchu Plain White Banner, thus belonging to the Banner system. He is the author of China’s classic novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*. Written during Cao Xueqin’s later years of hardship and sorrow, the novel was originally titled *The Story of the Stone*, with the first 80 chapters largely finalized and circulated in manuscript form. In 1791, Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E published the first movable-type edition, expanding the work to 120 chapters and renaming it *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

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